Friend (1)
Friend (Part 1)
I glance back at Selena Kim, who has been silently following behind me since earlier.
'She's like some noble lion...'
Both Ye-rim and Selena Kim, women in this world have an average height that's at least 10cm taller than women from my previous world.
On top of that, Selena Kim is even taller than Ye-rim, who already belongs to the tall side among such women, so for every two or three steps I take, she catches up with one long stride...
'Why is she vaguely following from behind instead of just walking beside me?'
If my lover Ye-rim has a strong image of an adorable puppy or cat despite her physique, then conversely, Selena Kim has the image of a noble lion with golden mane flowing in the high winds, looking down upon the world, so to speak?
'Though I can see the boredom and emptiness toward the world hidden within that nobility.'
The emptiness I vaguely felt when I first met her now appears even more clearly during this second meeting.
There might be various reasons, but it's largely thanks to her showing her true self by shedding one layer of her facade, unlike during our first meeting.
I briefly mentioned this before, but among the friends I had in my previous world, there was one who emitted an aura quite similar to Selena Kim's.
Of course, compared to that friend, Selena Kim's emptiness seems several times deeper, but ultimately, the gist is the same - born into privilege, they find the world boring and lose interest, leading to emptiness, and I knew how to satisfy that.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kang Cheol. Where are we going? We already passed the restaurant districts earlier, and now I only see academies and convenience stores?"
She stops walking two steps behind me, having been following silently, and asks, seemingly puzzled by my behavior of continuing to walk past restaurant areas after asking her to buy me a meal as payment for this incident.
Yes, the way to satisfy that emptiness is the most classic and obvious method - showing those who find the world endlessly boring that "There are still so many fun things in the world you don't know about~!"
One might say, "Would they suffer from emptiness just because they don't know such simple things? You dumbass!" but amusingly, there's no one around them to provide that simple solution.
Who would dare meddle with those born as lion cubs in the first place?
They would have just flattered and watched their moods.
In that sense, I was someone who lived a completely different life from them.
Born without parents, I had to hunt for my own food, and starting life as a weakling, my ability to read people's emotions and facial expressions and be sensitive to moods increased dramatically.
Therefore, unlike them, the world seemed endlessly fascinating and precious to me, and I felt sorry for them who couldn't properly enjoy such a beautiful world.
"Don't worry~ We're going exactly where we need to! And we've just arrived!"
"...This is a convenience store?"
We arrived at the convenience store I wanted, one with simple plastic tables and parasols arranged outside for eating food, and when I said this was exactly the restaurant I wanted, Selena Kim tilts her head with a puzzled expression.
Huhu~ When would a high-class person like her ever come to such a place to buy and eat food?
Last time, she probably had a fancy 5 million won Michelin three-star steak at some luxurious hotel~
"Wait a moment. I'll make you an incredibly delicious meal. Hehe~ Time to show off my skills after so long~"
I tell her to sit on the cheap plastic chair outside the convenience store, almost forcing her to sit down.
Then I hum a tune as I enter the convenience store, gathering a spicy no-broth ramen that's exceptionally tasty - Spicy Chicken Stir-fry Noodles - and a sweet-tasting Gong O Chun Jajang, along with sausages and canned tuna, and start diligently preparing them using the cooking method I enjoyed in the military.
True to instant foods, it takes less than 10 minutes to complete, and I present the finished products to Selena Kim, who has been sitting in the chair with a "What the hell is this guy doing?" expression, carefully observing my actions.
"Ta-da~! Presenting an amazing calorie bomb - a spicy-sweet fusion of Spicy Chicken Stir-fry Jajang noodles with tuna and sausages!"
It's neither jajangmyeon nor spicy chicken stir-fry noodles - just that ambiguous ramen topped with high-calorie sausages torn roughly by hand, then lightly drizzled with oil from the tuna can to enhance the savory flavor.
And finally, plating the tuna on top completes it!
'Shall we call it PX Three-Star Fusion Food?'
If only we had the king of frozen chicken, Sh** Chicken, to go with it...
'Damn, my stomach's gonna kill me!'
Though the next day would bring workplace revenge due to side effects from high-calorie intake, the taste was absolutely fantastic.
I look at her with an expectant expression as she stares intently at this thing that looks like all the rations dumped into one container and shaken up.
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"Come on, try it try it! Hurry up and taste it~!"
Selena Kim stares intently at the something he brought calling it food, under his expectant gaze from the opposite seat.
'What on earth is he trying to do...?'
She followed without complaint when he asked for a meal as payment, but the destination turned out to be a convenience store, not a restaurant.
She could roughly tell what kinds of foods were mixed together.
Despite being a chaebol family's daughter, as a Korean woman, she had served in the military and seen fellow soldiers making and eating similar non-food-like, strange dishes there.
'Though no one ever offered any to me.'
She was a soldier like them, but of different origins.
Her mother's connections spread widely regardless of whether they were politicians or military personnel, and no officers or soldiers dared approach her, her being such a person's child.
'Of course, even if they had offered me this food garbage, I wouldn't have eaten it.'
She had grown up eating only the finest ingredients and foods prepared by top-tier chefs since childhood.
To be told to eat garbage food that she would hesitate to eat even when prepared separately, mixed together in such an unsightly manner...
"What's wrong? Is it because of how it looks... Mmm mmm~ It's so tasty though! Just try it once? Now that I think about it, I was the one who paid even though I asked you to buy me food?! Then consider eating this as the payment!"
"What? You paid on your own and suddenly change the terms?!"
It was an offer she would never have accepted under normal circumstances.
No, not just normally - even now she had no intention of accepting it.
But...
'Kuh... What is with this man?!'
He's a fox.
Though he sits on the same cheap plastic chair, chin propped on both hands, sending expectant glances - a sight no different from other insignificant men who approached her seeking her status -
For some reason, the image of Kang Cheol reflected in her eyes now has perky fox ears twitching where they shouldn't be, confusing her heart, and his angelically beautiful appearance prevents her mouth from speaking the refusal she intended.
'This is cheating!'
To tempt her with such an absurd offer and an expression she can't refuse, when she's already unknowingly deeply fascinated by this man named Kang Cheol...!
Had her emotions ever been this turbulent in her entire life?
Emotions ultimately require interest to emerge, and for her who found the world endlessly trivial and empty, this was an emotional whirlwind she had never experienced before.
"...Alright. I'll, I'll try it just once."
She didn't know why.
She had never felt such vivid emotions in her life, and of all people, the object of these feelings was this fox-like man.
"Hehe~ That's right! Just one bite and you'll fall for its mysterious flavor!"
Knowing it couldn't be true, yet unable to resist his temptation, she finally lifts a chopstickful, puts it in her mouth, and chews thoughtfully.
"How is it? Delicious, right?!"
At her reaction, he jumps around excitedly like a child for some reason, and she nods slightly and takes a second bite.
Of course...
'As expected, it's tasteless...'
A spicy, salty, sweet, uselessly high-calorie food.
To her palate, accustomed to gourmet high-class foods since childhood, it was exactly as expected - terrible food, and simultaneously.
'It's just like this man.'
The more she chews, unlike gourmet foods, the intuitive spicy and sweet flavor of seasonings numbs her tongue.
Commoners might not know.
But for someone of her wealthy class, it's a taste that's only stimulating and would worsen health - not permitted.
Yet her chopsticks don't stop moving, the second bite becomes third, third becomes fourth, and gradually the food he made begins to show the bottom of the container.
Truthfully, she didn't understand her own behavior.
If she wants something, she takes it; if she wants to break something, she breaks it thoroughly.
That was the life of the woman called Selena Kim, and it remained her unchanged philosophy even now.
"How is it? Once you try it, it puts Michelin three-star to shame, right?"
At first, his inhumanely sweet appearance just to look at, then the more you get to know him, the spicy personality that doesn't match that beautiful appearance, and finally that innocent personality that unknowingly charms people.
Somehow, this food now completely gone into her stomach and the man named Kang Cheol resembled each other.
"Indeed. Before eating it, I thought it would be worthless like other instant foods, but once I started eating, I just kept going."
'Just like you...'
That was why.
The reason she finished every last bit of food that was no different from garbage by her standards, and smiled genuinely at this man's question.
"Huhu~ You know what, Ms. Selena? That smile right now. It's truly beautiful, you know?"
And how that smile of hers resembled the smile of the man before her eyes...